Walgreens sues Wyeth over generic Alavert

Wyeth, maker of the allergy medicine Alavert, was sued by Walgreen Co. over claims it wrongfully blocked a federal trademark application for "Wal-Vert," the retailer's generic version.

Walgreen, the biggest U.S. drugstore chain, seeks a court order overturning the Aug. 5 decision by the patent office in Washington denying its Wal-Vert application. Wyeth, based in Madison, New Jersey, successfully argued the generic name was too similar to its own.

"Consumers immediately understand that the Wal-prefix indicates the product is a lower price alternative originating from Walgreens," the Deerfield-based company said in the complaint filed Oct. 6 in Chicago federal court.

Walgreen, which filed the application for Wal-Vert in May 2004, is already selling the drug in stores and on its Web site. The trademark was initially approved in 2005, triggering the opposition by Wyeth.

Walgreen also sells Wal-Dryl and Wal-itin, generic versions of Johnson & Johnson's allergy drug Benadryl and Schering-Plough Corp.'s Claritin. Walgreen's trademark applications for those low-cost version weren't challenged, court papers show.

Doug Petkus, a Wyeth spokesman, and Jennifer Rankin Byrne, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, didn't immediately return calls for comment.

The case is Walgreen Co. v. Wyeth, 1:08-cv-05694, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).